About one year ago yesterday, Hunt Consolidated Inc. broke ground on a new office tower, which borders on Akard Street and Woodall Rogers Freeway. You’ve probably seen it, it has massive cement beams curving on its northerly face. The building is being developed by Woodbine Development Corporation, which is partially owned somehow in the Hunt Consolidated Empire. I heard from a friend (hearsay, I know) that Chairman Ray Hunt, or some other c-level executive, was asked at a luncheon whether the building was going to be green and he equivocated saying something like, "Well, we’re not going to build green just to build green, but we’ll do it if there are tangible economic reasons to do it."

I did some research and it looks like Hunt Consolidated Office Tower is registered with the USGBC as LEED-CI v2.0, otherwise know as the green ratings standard for commercial interiors. If my understanding is correct, that building is to be 100% owner-occupied, so Hunt is going green inside? Not sure. Here’s what I know. It will be a $120 million, 400,000 square foot, 15 story building. Gensler, which is #2 in the US for having the largest number of LEED Accredited Professionals, will be doing the interiors. So they have the know-how to go green on the inside. The entire structure was designed by Dallas-based Beck Group and the general contractor is Austin Commercial. Looks like it may be going green, but if the decision is still in the air, here’s my two cents: what’s more economic incentive to build green than a $6.3 million tax abatement over 10 years? That abatement should cover the 1% premium (if that) required to go green.

In the last "Green Office" segment here on Jetson Green, I talked about the merits of investing in a Think chair from Steelcase for your office. Need a desk? Some of you may shut down purely at the price tag ($2,200), but there’s a price premium for style + sustainability. You can find the Liege Desk, designed by Jeffrey Bernett + Nicholas Dodziuk, exclusively at Design Within Reach. The desk uses sustainable chestnut or oak veneers and the stainless steel is finish-free. The wood varnish is non-toxic and low in volatile organic compounds. Measuring H 30" x W 60" x D 30", the Liege Desk accommodates storage that can be placed on the right or left, depending on your orientation. It’s a pretty good looking desk solution and would definitely go well with the Think chair. Via Collin Dunn at Treehugger.

Early last spring, I was looking into the faces of 45 bored students, giving my 4 minute business plan pitch for a trendy, green hotel concept geared specifically for young professionals ages 20-40. I had it all laid out: kiosk integration for mundane tasks, high customer service, green shuttle service, LEED certified hotel construction interior and exterior, teamwork style cleaning, paperless everything, free internet, slightly smaller rooms with mega-style, modern art + photographs, etc. People were like, "I don’t know if that will work." "What’s wrong with the Hilton or La Quinta." Well, it looks like my instincts were right: Starwood Capital Group announced plans to launch a new brand, "1" Hotel and Residences, as a luxury, eco-friendly global hotel brand. The first hotels will be in Seattle (late 2008), Mammoth Lakes, Scottsdale, and Fort Lauderdale (in order of opening).

Let’s face it, the entire industry will head this direction because hotels are levered to the cost of energy in two ways: (1) people travel less as transportation energy costs rise and (2) hotel’s profit margin is squeezed by the energy costs of running a building. Up until now, most hotels haven’t really attacked this problem by looking at the entirety of the situation: by building green hotel buildings! So trend-setting hoteliers like Starwood are going to make money because they are operationally smart. I’m excited about this green development. After the initial locations, "1" will expand to New York, Los Angeles, + Washington D.C., soon thereafter.

Sustainability:The hotels will be LEED certified in and out. Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) will act as environmental advisor for the brand. Each "1" location will donate 1% of its revenues to local environmental organizations. The first four hotels, and most of the hotels, will be new construction, but Paris will be a renovation. "1" emphasizes air and light, offering a fresh, invigorating, and alternative way to travel. Inundated with the "richness, beauty and variety of colors, textures and materials," guests and residents (sounds like a multi-use platform) may not realize the myriad of ways that their building is stepping lightly on the earth.

This building is a little old hat for many of the readers here (it was an AIA/COTE Top Ten Green Project in 2004), but I think there are some important aspects of the projects that can be remembered and applied to new green projects. This building is in the highest eschelon of LEED ratings, the platinum standard (LEED-NC, v2), and if you follow the links below, they’ve been generous enough to explain how they received all the points towards Platinum certification. You can even take a virtual tour of the building if you’re interested.

The building is the corporate headquarters for a biotechnology firm and houses 900 employees in 12 floors. Here are some of the many green features: high performance curtainwall glazing system with operable windows on all 12 floors; steam from local plant is used for heating + cooling; about 1/3 of the building uses ventilated double-facade that blocks summer solar and captures winter solar gains; the central atrium acts as a huge return air duct and light shaft; air moves up the atrium and out exhaust fans near the skylight; natural light is brought in from solar-tracking mirrors above the skylight and reflected deep throughout the building; the building saves water use comparably by 32% by using waterless urinals, dual flush toilets, automatic faucets, and low-flush fixtures; storm water supplements the cooling towers and irrigates the landscaped roof; partial electricity generation is provided by the building integrated photovoltaics (PV); nearly 90% of the wood is FSC-certified; and the building materials were chosen based on low emissions, recycled content, and/or local manufacturing. Not a bad list!

Absolute Architectural Splendor. There’s a little bit of green development in Dallas, but we can do more to catch up to other progressive cities such as Portland + Austin. Azure, a 375-foot condo in Dallas being developed by the innovative Gabriel Barbier-Mueller of Harwood International (+ Westback Projects Corporation), is Dallas’ first foray into LEED, green living, as far as residential condo development is concerned. Azure is on track to receive the LEED gold certification from the USGBC, but it is trying to get platinum. Really, all that matters is that this place will be green + modern.

Architectural design is by James KM Cheng Architects Inc., interior design by Gensler and Lauren Rottet, FAIA, and external landscaping by SWA Group. As far as sustainable building is concerned, here’s what I know so far: high-performance engineered window system with clear anodized aluminum framing and insulated clear double glazing with Low-E coating; energy efficient lighting meeting National Energy Code; LEED certified building envelope and heating/air conditioning; and high-quality roller/motorized shading system made of sun control fabric.

Some amenities include Miele and Sub-Zero appliances and professionally designed interiors. Owners will also have access to the spa, his/her sauna, state-of-the-art exercise facilities, private garage (refered to as "G2"), 17 seat theater, garden terrace and pool, boardroom, and library with a fireplace. What this means is that Azure will be a 31 story, 202 unit, $400,000 – $4.2 M per-unit superstar. Seriously. And I know it’s well over 65% pre-sold, so those that are interested will need to jump on it quick. It should be complete in Spring 2007.

My first installment to the "Green Office" segment is about the office chair. I walked into a friend’s downtown office (a lawyer) and he had some beat up, patchy furniture inside. I asked him what the deal was and he responded that it was all the firm provided. That gets me, big-time. For all you professionals out there, especially young professionals, your job is your domain and if the bossman isn’t providing it, do it yourself. My credo, dress and office like the person who’s job you want to have. So I prefer CEO-style all the way. If clients come in my office, they’ll see CEO-style. Compare that to the cubicle next door and they’ll form an impression about your position in the firm. You’ve got to be a rainmaker, so this is all about looking the part.

As far as office chairs go, there seems to be a race to ergonomics–"Ooh, nice, is that so and so’s chair?" "Did corporate get that for ya?" "How much does one of those run?" You get the drift. Steelcase, Inc. makes this entire process very easy, actually, modern + green easy. They have two chairs that are Cradle to Cradle™ Certified Silver: Think™ + Leap®. I’m going to focus on Think. Think also received the BusinessWeek 2006 Gold IDEA award, IIDEX Sustainable Design Gold award, NeoCon Editor’s Choice Award, and the Red Dot Award for Product Design (Germany). But forget accolades, here’s where sustainability meets the chair.

First, cradle to cradle for this chair means the company considered what goes into the chair, how it is made, and what happens to the chair when it is no longer a chair. The chair is designed to be highly recyclable + safe for environmental health. Second, the chair is up to 99% recyclable by weight + up to 44% recycled content. Third, disassembly takes about 5 minutes and Steelcase has set up the structure for customers to participate in recycling of their used chair. Fourth, the chair is Greenguard Indoor Air Quality Certified. But if this is too green for you, there’s more.

Think is comfortable too. It has the adjustable arms, pneumatic seat height, and innovative back "flexors" that track and respond fluidly to your natural weight and movements. So not only is this chair environmentally conscious, it’s smart, too. I think an added benefit to the chair is that one can order the thing online and have it shipped FedEx ground-style for free. So, if you’re tired of that standard office stuff and want to make a change, I’d get one of these Steelcase chairs shipped straight to the office.